Katie blogged about Frangipani and she said the magic words “If you like Precious Ramotswe…” I do, so I reserved one from our library. It is very Precious Ramotswe-like.
Women’s wisdom. Traditional Tahitian values. If Precious’ infant daughter had not died, then this is the type of story Mma Ramotswe would be telling.
Thank goodness! I actually enjoyed The Fourth Bear! OK not as much as I have enjoyed all of the Thursday Next books but I did enjoy it a lot. Tons more than the first Nursery Crimes book.
In the Humpty Dumpty book I didn’t much care for Mary Mary and I found Ashley a ridiculous character entirely. This time around, I liked them both. I also loved Punch & Judy. I’m still not thrilled about Prometheus and that whole storyline but I can overlook that now.
So what do you think – is The Gingerbread Man a cookie or is he cake? It’s important that you know for sure which he is…
I should have known – I lost my entire post about Goodnight Nobody. That’s a sign that I either shouldn’t speak badly about Jennifer Weiner and nobody cares about my half-hearted boycott of her work or that my boycott should be more than half-hearted.
Goodnight Nobody was no Good in Bed, nor was it any In Her Shoes. It wasn’t even a Little Earthquakes. It was ok. Nothing to write home about or to convince others to read. It isn’t making me regret my decision to drop Jennifer Weiner as my favorite chick lit author or my decision not to rush out and get her books as soon as they hit bookstores. No, I’m not going to change my mind about her book of short stories either.
Goodnight Nobody was ok. Not great, but ok.
From Here to Reality was a nice, easy read. A bit of a mystery, but not much of one. A bit of a love story, but not much of one of those, either. Just a nice NYC/LA book with interesting characters and happy endings all around. Not quite a beach read, but a nice book to read if you’ve just read a ton of really serious books and need something a little light to recover.
From Here to Reality Read More »
I don’t really DO graphic novels (or comics). They just aren’t my thing, I know that and I avoid them. But when I heard Fun Home was being challenged and banned, I decided to give it a try. I do like Dykes to Watch Out For, in small doses, so I had high hopes for Fun Home.
High hopes indeed. Fun Home is excellent. And it totally needed to be a graphic novel instead of just a written word piece. What a family, what a story, what a terrific job Bechdel did telling her story.
A Banned Book: Fun Home Read More »
I’ve done it. I’ve finally read all of the books from the Booker Short List. The Emperor’s Children was the last. It was also one that I thought I would like more than most of the others. Now that I’ve finished, I’m finding it difficult to decide just how I felt about it – other than pleased it did not win the Booker. I also find it troubling that this book was on the Booker Short List at all – what got it there? Simply the 9/11 storyline? It feels that way to me, and I don’t like it.
I liked the book, I enjoyed it very much. But it didn’t feel like a Booker nominee to me. It felt like any other nicely written novel I’ve read this year. The characters were incredibly typical, stereotypical even, and predictable. Not a single shocking characteristic, not a single surprise, no unexpected twists. These characters could be dropped into a zillion other books and fit right in.
None of this is bad – it wasn’t a bad book. It was a good book. I liked it. And, I’m glad it didn’t win the Booker. You should read it though, you’ll like it too.
The Emperor’s Children Read More »
I ran into a problem while reading Autobiography of a Face. Besides I just said I was swearing off Irish authors, and Grealy was from Ireland, I just finished her book, As Seen on TV and had listened to a few chapters of Patchett’s Truth & Beauty. Too much Lucy Grealy and all of it sounds the same. In fact it all sounds the same because in many, many cases the stories were told in virtually the same way in all three books.
Once I resigned myself with that, sort of accepted it the way you accept the re-telling of family stories over and over again, I enjoyed reading the book. I’m sorry Grealy died, particularly the way she died. Very sad and melodramatic, the latter of which she probably appreciates – wherever she is.
I wonder what all of those people who went to school with her think about her now – what they think about themselves – what they say about Lucy to their children.
Autobiography of a Face Read More »
Sigh, Sigh, Sigh, Sigh. There Is No Me Without You is a difficult book. Difficult because it’s a reminder of how little most of us are doing to solve huge problems. It’s a reminder of how little difference we are making in the world.
Everyone should read this, and books like it – and then DO something. And while you’re at it, go read Mary’s interview with the author. And visit Mary’s family – her family has made a difference in Africa.
There Is No Me Without You Read More »
OK maybe I’m not done with Irish authors but I think I need to be a bit more selective. Then again, even Irish authors I’m supposed to like because everyone likes them are just not my thing. The Third Policeman appeared on my reserve pick up list and I have no idea how it got there. Or maybe it was something that TW just picked up off the shelf? However it happened, I wish it hadn’t.
For awhile I thought I might like it, that lasted for the first chapter. For the next three chapters I was just puzzled. Almost in the same way I was puzzled about Gravity’s Rainbow. At that point, I flipped to the back of the book and saw some author’s notes – ah ha, that clears things up a bit. (No I’m not going to tell you what is in there – just remember if you are reading this and you’re just not getting it, flip to the back and the author’s notes might help – and I just peeked at Amazon and they suggest the author’s note as well. Darn, I wish I had seen that earlier!). From there, it was better. It almost made sense, almost. In that madcap, this is just too weird sort of way. I think I liked the last chapter the best – too bad I had to read the first 190 pages.
I think I’m done with Irish authors Read More »
Like they always say, truth is stranger than fiction. The Coroner’s Journal proves that completely. Louis Cataldie is one of the most interesting characters ever to grace the pages of a book and he’s a real live person. The crimes, often felt like something out of a horror novel or a whodunit, but those were real crimes. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction.
I would like to meet Cataladie over a cup of coffee and a hot donut someday, the stories he can tell and the fact that he still seems to be pretty sane after all that he’s been through. Amazing
The Coroner’s Journal Read More »